Following Friday’s Absinthe release, nearly one million iOS devices were jailbroken over the course of the weekend.

Given the recent chatter about the near-feature-completeness of iOS, such a statistic serves as a novel reminder of the veritable wealth of opportunity for expansion within the iOS environment. Outside of Apple’s dominion, casual developers have carved their own utility out of the mobile operating system, sometimes relying upon routes openly decried by Apple. Granted, there are some whose jailbreaking intentions are somewhat nefarious, but I tend to think the community of tinkerers serves as an — evidently — large reminder of the potential for growth for iOS.

That’s not to say that I expect significant changes in Apple’s philosophy toward its software, rather, I simply find hope for the longevity and growth of the mobile operating system in such a niche and intelligent community.